The Royal Palm Beach Writing Group mourns the loss of the group’s most senior member, Jim Wiggins, who passed away last Sunday at Palms West Hospital.
Wiggins was a fourth-generation Floridian who was born in Ellenton, Fla. He was a graduate of Florida Southern College and had a math degree from the Southern California School of Theology.
Wiggins authored 15 books, including Glimpses of Florida’s Past, More Glimpses of Florida’s Past, Ellenton: Its Early History, Troubled Waters, Manatee, Florida and World War II and Cracker Boy. Wiggins was a columnist for six years with The Observer and contributed to numerous magazines, including Florida Wildlife, Nature Photographer, Tide, Birds and Blooms, American Butterflies, Florida Gardening and others.
He and his wife, Colleen, recently co-authored a book, Gardening for the Soul. He resided in The Acreage and had 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Two of his four children are deceased.
